


Taking Care of the Family

by RebaK1tten



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Discussion of past underage, M/M, Original Character(s), mentions of Diana Reid, mentions of George Foyet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-25
Updated: 2013-08-25
Packaged: 2017-12-24 14:22:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/941019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RebaK1tten/pseuds/RebaK1tten
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Spencer tells Aaron how he took care of his mother while away at school.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Taking Care of the Family

**Author's Note:**

> From the Hotch/Reid site on LJ, moving things to here. 
> 
> Discussion of past history of underage age/dub-con. 
> 
> If anyone needs/wants additional tags, please let me know.

Aaron has worked with Spencer for almost a decade. They’ve been dating for almost a year.  Aaron knows all of Spencer’s facial expressions and noises. He knows the difference between the “that was funny” snort and the “you’re an idiot, I won’t address that comment” snort. So when Spencer is in bed, studying his laptop, and Aaron hears the combination of “Hmmph” along with double raised eyebrows and small smile, he knows that there’s something interesting, surprising and pleasing.

“Whatcha got? New stats on longevity and orgasms?”  He asks, grinning as he enters the bedroom.

“Umm, no, nothing really important,” Spencer smiles and shuts the laptop and puts it on the floor. “Coming to bed?”

“Yeah. You sure it’s nothing? You seemed pretty interested in whatever you were reading.” Aaron undresses and slips under the covers, rolling on his side so he’s facing Spencer.

Spencer is on his back, hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling. “I got an email that someone I knew died. In prison. I wasn’t expecting it, I guess. I’m not totally surprised, but I wasn’t expecting it, if that makes sense.”

“Someone you knew? From a case?” Spencer follows a few of the people they’ve put in jail, so it’s possible.

“No, from a long time ago. Actually…” Spencer rolls over and looks at Aaron then gently strokes his cheek, tucking a bit of hair behind his ear. “Someone I knew when I was growing up. Back in Las Vegas.”

Aaron turns his head and kisses Spencer’s palm. “Do you want to talk about it?” he asks gently.

“Maybe. You’ll understand, I think. You won’t judge me, right?” Spencer leans forward and gently kisses Aaron before continuing. “When I was 16, I was still in school, at MIT. And trying to go back and forth to check on my mom and classes and money and everything else. She was getting bad around then, especially with taking her meds. When I was home, I could keep track and make sure she took them and even at Caltech, I could get back and forth often enough to make sure she was okay. But when I really left, it got bad, Aaron. That’s when it got real bad.”

Spencer is quiet while Aaron rubs his shoulder, not interrupting. He knows it’s hard for Spencer to discuss taking care of his mom, and even after this long he still feels guilty.

“Anyway, I knew a man from our neighborhood, Ronald Atherson. My mom met him and trusted him and he always seemed to keep track of us.  Of course, he was a hebephile and hung around because he was attracted to me. I was 16, and probably looked 13, so fine line with that and a pedophile, not that it matters much.” Spencer stops for a breath and Aaron knows he’s checking on him. Aaron tries to unclench his jaw a little and nods slightly to let Spencer know to continue.

“Long story short, we made an agreement. He’d check on my mother every day and in return…I’d have sex with him.  I know it sounds bad, but actually it worked. He took care of her and made sure she ate and went to her doctor appointments. When she felt well, he took her out, just shopping and things.  He really took care of her like she was his mother.” Spencer shakes his head. “Heck, he probably thought he was taking care of his mother-in-law or something.  Anyway, it worked. He paid for me to come home on breaks and occasional weekends and in between times, he sent me money.  Aaron, please say something.”

Aaron isn’t sure how to respond, this isn’t quite what he was expecting. “I’m not entirely sure what to say, Spencer. I know your position was a horrible one, but it sounds like a deal with the devil. And when you weren’t there, what did he do?”

“I kept track of him to be sure he wasn’t with anyone else. I hadn’t taken any psychology classes at the time, but knew that there was something wrong with him, of course. The younger I looked, the more he liked it. So I told him that if he wanted to be my boyfriend, he had to be faithful to me only. While I was away, I sent some pictures – nothing with my face and body both, just one or the other. And…we had phone sex.” Spencer looks a bit embarrassed; Aaron thinks it might be because they’ve had some pretty steamy phone conversations.

“The sex wasn’t a problem, really. I mean I was 16, 17 so it’s not like I wasn’t thinking about sex anyway.  And he was only 16 years older than me, about our age difference actually.  And the age of consent in Nevada is 16.  Yes, he was attracted to me because I looked younger, but it worked to my benefit and was a way to help my mom. One time, I remember, I had my upper lip waxed to make sure there was no fluff. Kind of twisted, right?” Spencer shrugs and looks at Aaron with the open, trusting eyes Aaron knows.

“I’m sorry, Spencer, I can’t imagine what it would be like to have to make those types of choices. Once again, it just makes me want to find your father and beat the crap out of him.” They’ve discussed this and agreed that it’s a good idea that Aaron never meets Spencer’s father. “And I know I’m looking at this from my current point of view and just seeing the abuse. And a predator left loose. So what happened when you were done with him or he was done with you? Which was it?”

“Well, that’s where the email comes in. When I was 17, close to 18, I didn’t need him anymore, and I was getting too old for him anyway. So, I arranged for a friend to pretend he was 14 and to start emailing Ron, and when Ron made a date to meet him, we had the cops there. He was arrested and he’s been in and out of prison since then. When he does get out… did get out, he immediately breaks parole and went back in. And I’ve kept track of where he was and kept up with prison administrators, so when he was killed last week, I was on the list to be notified.” Spencer shrugs and smiles tightly.

Aaron is trying to keep up with the conversation, he doesn’t know a lot about Spencer’s teen years. Spencer hasn’t offered and Aaron hasn’t pushed, understanding it was a painful time. “That’s … a lot to take in. I know growing up wasn’t easy for you, I wouldn’t have guessed all of this.”

“I don’t talk about it because I think people would judge my choices. Basically, it was doing anything to take care of my mom. Of course, I still ended up having to commit her. But I did the best I could and kept her at home, taken care of, as long as I could.” He moves closer to Aaron, snuggling against his shoulder, in their usual cuddling position. “After taking some classes, I thought for a while that I may have some anti-social personality traits, but I don’t think that’s quite right. Yes, I used Ron, but it was mainly for my mom. And I feel empathy, that’s why I did that and why I do what I do, right?”

Aaron thinks that, yes, Spencer does feel empathy. For the victims. And for Owen Savage, for Nathan Harris, for Adam Jackson – for serial killers.

Spencer kisses on Aaron’s throat and quietly says, “I guess that’s one of the things that attracted me to you as a partner. I know we think alike about this. We’d both do anything – anything – to protect our families. That’s the two of us. My mom, your mom. Sean. And of course, Jack. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to protect Jack.”

Aaron nods and kisses Spencer’s sweet-smelling, slightly damp hair. “I know. I never doubt how much you love him.”

“The same way you love him, Aaron, like he’s my own. And when Foyet was in your house and you had him subdued, and you knew that we were on our way and you could have stopped, but you didn’t. You didn’t want any other accidents, or Foyet escaping or some mistrial or anything that might put Jack in danger. So you killed him yourself. With your bare hands, you killed him. To protect your family.”  Spencer kisses Aaron’s knuckles and yawns.  “Wow, talking about this is exhausting, but I’m glad we did. I knew you’d understand. You still love me?”

“Of course l love you, nothing can change that,” Aaron replies, breathing deeply, willing himself to relax. Spencer burrows more into Aaron’s side, a leg thrown over Aaron’s and his slightly chilly hand sneaks into the warmth of Aaron’s armpit.  As Spencer starts to doze off and his brain shuts down, he makes little noises and grunts; it makes Aaron think of a car motor pinging as it cools off.

In a couple of minutes, they’re both quiet. Spencer is peacefully asleep. It takes Aaron quite a bit longer to fall asleep tonight. 


End file.
